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i think you read too much into it and if it is like you think it is then why would you want to work for them?

the questions you are complaining about for the most part are the same ones you would be asked at a party
they are being asked to see who you are and what you think about things in general
now i could be wrong here but most of what you was asked and are complaining about just tell them who you are

I imagine if everyone had only sunny side of life attitude there would be no kind of dilemmas to deal with in a job discussion part of a message board.

Of course I dont go angry and with a attitude to interviews. Its just after these exp. I feel that some people are evaluating u based on personal checklist rather then a review of exp education and skills.

I was only looking for suggestions on how to sidestep an obviously judgmental line of questions.

I answer as honest as possible but it always seems that the family man, sports fan has a lot better chance at longer time employment then a single person who doesnt share interest of boss.

In an interview, I also ask ALOT of questions, that to the interviewee, might seem stupid, and have nothing to do with the job, besides the trades knowledge, skills, etc type of questions.
But, there is a reason. You would be representing me, everytime you get dispatched ot one of my customers. I want to make SURE that you can think, can talk, and can write so someone can read it (as in what I see in your application) to my customers.

I had a guy once give me a small raise and i asked why and he said because you said your wife makes good money , i started looking after that and have been happy ,but i never bring up my wifes job.....

Basides skill and education, your employer might want to know about your charactor. People that are married and have dependents are usually more responsible and show up for work everyday. Asking if you are gay..well, who the hell wants to hire a tinkerbell in this trade?

To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right.

Chizel Chizel Chizel, away away

Illegal is illegal, its there for a reason, protection and safeguards, of privacy and protection of individual rights!
alot of COmpanies like to probe in your personal matters or life!
without the possible consideration that their personal life and business matters, are none of anyones concern as well!
its a basic principle, of feeling intruded or invaded
due to lack of trust, or just being nosey!

but that can go both ways! it can hurt a company as well as help, its a dbl edged sword!

Its not like youre going to a personality contest, or to see if you have all the right answers or can interview well, but cant fix a thing, i seen guys that can shamooze the customers and the boss, and he does pretty good, it took a long time to train him, but now he can put his money where his mouth is, or where it shouldnt have been too!

Originally posted by jtpnyc I am not looking to sue anyone I was just trying to explain the illegal description of the questions.

I would prefer to not be assumed to be gay for not being a sports fan or single or under paid becasue I dont have 2 kids and a wife.

These questions lead to false answers to these indirect questions.

I am not looking to sue someone just want to not have to admit to being dirty poor and every negative thing about myself.

You just need to be yourself, but tell white lies if you need too. If you dont like sports just tell them you work to much to watch TV. Dont have a car? Yeah that can be a real issue with an employer and he has every right to know. His thoughts are "IS JIM BOB GOING TO BE HERE EVERY MORNING ON TIME, OR IS HE GOING TO NEED A RIDE?" or maybee "HE DOESENT HAVE A LICENCE, WONDER WHY? WILL MY INSURANCE EVEN CARY HIM IF HE GETS IT BACK?

As far as marital status, its a known fact that married people tend to stay longer at their places of employment. (This is why its suppose to be illegal to discriminate on that matter)

I though have more faith in civil court than criminal. People get hurt in accidents at work, get in car wrecks, get injured by products due to poor design etc.... Should they have to suffer for someone else mistake? I think not!
For example (true story too) My daughter was bitten by a dog last year over 30 stitches to her cheak, head, and shoulder. Should I pay the medical bills? Or should the owner's HO insurance have to flip the bill? Wasent her fault the owner asked her to feed his dog a treat (SHE WAS BARELY 3 AT THE TIME). She will need atleast another scar revision surgery to get as close to 100% as we can. I cant shell out the 45-75k to get it done. Should she be scarred for life when there is insurance money there that can help her? People always ***** about how bad the world is untill they really get hit close to home and realize how bad it can be.

So you'd rather take a job with these two brothers because they didn't ask a lot of questions! They took you on a couple of service calls when you weren't employed by them and weren't covered by workman's comp?

There are a lot of illegal questions when interviewing people. Many of them can be sidestepped by simply stating the question differently such as the age issue. Whether someone is married and has kids can sometimes be had by asking about what insurance plan they would need for example.

I use behavior based interviewing and will ask about work experiences they are especially proud of. I'll ask about their most difficult customer problem and how they handled it. I'll ask for a couple of trade references; not friends and family but techs they've worked with in the past that would vouch for them.
There was a thread here a couple of months ago that asked "If the shoe was on the other foot would you feel confident handing over the keys to a vehicle with thousands of dollars in tools and equipment to someone you don't know with just your word that you'll do a good job?"

It'd do a lot of techs good to go into a job interview with that mindset.